Speaker of the 10th House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, has said on his watch, the 10th House would sustain and even surpass the gains of the ninth House.
Abbas, who made the pledge in his acceptance and inaugural speech after his election, said the lawmakers would carry out the task before them jointly.
He said the 10th House would introduce reforms and innovations for the benefit of Nigerians, announcing that in a few weeks, the green chamber would be releasing the legislative agenda that would shape activities.
The speaker said the House would work closely and inter-dependently with the executive and judiciary to give Nigerians the good governance they deserve.
Abbas said, “We stand at a crucial juncture in our nation’s history, where challenges abound, but so do opportunities. We will champion legislations that will uplift the lives of our fellow citizens, promote social justice, and drive sustainable development.
“We will focus on strengthening our security apparatus, collaborating with relevant stakeholders to combat insurgency, terrorism, and all forms of criminality. We aim to help create a safe and secure environment that fosters economic growth and social stability.”
Speaking to newsmen after a thank you visit to Tinubu at the State House, Abuja, Abbas declared that the green chamber would not hesitate to move against the executive arm whenever it worked against the interest of the Nigerian populace. He assured that the 10th House would not be a rubber stamp in the hands of the executive.
The new speaker said, “We will always separate our independence and we will relate and be able to harmonise with the executive where necessary, but where there is a conflict of interest, where we feel that the executive is or wants to do something that is not in the interest of the public, they know that we’ll stand up against that.”
He emphasised that the wide acceptability, depicted by the cross-party support during his election, gave the lie to the picture previously painted that he was being imposed by the ruling APC.
Abbas stated, “If you talk about rubber stamp, look at the acceptance rate, those who have elected those across party lines, almost the whole PDP, SDP, ADC and all other minority parties voted us. So if they felt that we are going to be rubber stamps, do you think they will elect us? No. They believe that we will safeguard the sanctity of the National Assembly, the legislature.”
Kalu, on his part, said the 10th House of Representatives would be delivering the promises its members made to their constituents by working with the executive.
He said, “We promised during the time we went to all the constituencies in the Federal Republic, canvassing for votes, the promise that we’re going to ensure that nation-building remains a joint task that will not be left only for the executive, the judiciary to handle.
“We promised that we are going to be there to make sure we bring our own bricks to the nation-building work and this extends to creation of jobs, reduction of poverty, policies that go into enhancing our energy sources, policies that will help us create more local content usage in this country.
“Manufacturing now helps us reduce importation and increases exportation that will stimulate our economy. And as you see in the past 15 days, Mr. President has been taking the right decisions on issues. We want to sustain that through legislative support, legislative intervention to make sure that together, we build a nation we will be proud of.”Deji Elumoye, Chuks Okocha, Olawale Ajimotokan, Sunday Aborisade, Udora Orizu in Abuja, James Sowole in Abeokuta, Oyewale Ibrahim in Lokoja, Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt, Sylvester Idowu in Warri, and Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia
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